19. feb. 2023 15:47 – Updated 19 Feb. 2023 15:47
When the researchers looked at the results for women, they made a startling discovery.
Norway is at the top of the world in colon cancer, and over the past 40-50 years there has been a tripling in the number of cases. Globally, Norwegian women top the list, while we are in fourth place when it comes to both sexes.
Numbers from The Cancer Registry shows that 4,550 people got colon or rectal cancer in Norway in 2021. Although the incidence of the disease is increasing in Norway, the survival rate for bowel cancer patients is also increasing.
In 2021, 1,266 Norwegians lost their lives to colon cancer. 25,508 people survived the disease.
Startling discovery
Researchers from Oslo University Hospital, the Cancer Registry and the University of Oslo have studied 1.9 million Norwegians between the ages of 16 and 75. The participants were followed for 50 years.
The study has been published in the recognized journal Colorectal Disease.
Senior physician and specialist in general and gastroenterological surgery at Oslo University Hospital Usman Saeed is the first author of the study.
According to Saeed, the connection between obesity and the risk of colon cancer in men has been known from previous studies, but the connection in women has been somewhat uncertain.
When the researchers carried out the study, they again saw, as previously known, that the risk in men of all age groups with a high body mass index (BMI) has an increased risk of up to 26 percent per five-unit increase in BMI for developing the disease.
It was only when they looked at the results for women that they made a startling discovery.
– New and surprising discovery
The researchers saw that women who have an elevated BMI at an early age, between the ages of 16 and 30, have an increased risk of developing colon cancer, on the same level as men.
– This is a new and surprising finding, which has not been observed in previous studies, Saeed adds VG.
In the study, the researchers also investigated how a high BMI affects the risk of dying from colon cancer. Here they found another surprising discovery, according to Saeed.
– Women who are overweight and obese have an increased risk of dying from colon cancer, compared to women of normal weight who develop this form of cancer. We do not find this difference in high cancer-related mortality among men with a high BMI, he tells VG.
Several measures to reduce risk
Scientists do not have the answer to why we have so much bowel cancer in Norway. Nevertheless, they believe that there are several measures that can be taken to reduce the risk.
A European study published in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, discussed by Today’s Medicinesuggests that starting a healthier lifestyle in adulthood reduces the risk of developing bowel cancer.
According to the Norwegian Cancer Registry, there have been indications that colon and rectal cancer is caused by lifestyle and that some occurrences can be prevented by reduced alcohol consumption, a healthier diet and increased physical activity.
Here is a list from the Cancer Registry of measures you can take to reduce your risk of getting bowel cancer:
- The risk of colon and rectal cancer increases with alcohol consumption.
- Regular physical activity reduces the risk of colon and rectal cancer.
- The risk of colon and rectal cancer is reduced by a well-balanced diet.
- Bowel cancer can be prevented by detecting precursors at an early stage.
